The bronchial circulation is still thought to be a separate circuit to the pulmonary circulation of blood flow through the lungs. However, there is some anatomical overlap between the regions which both circulations supply and there are a few points of direct connection e.g. in the precapillary region and the deep bronchial veins draining to pulmonary veins.
Physiologically, the bronchial circulation differs from the pulmonary circulation in that the arterial side carries oxygenated blood at systemic pressures to the bronchial tree. As the venous drainage is mainly the low pressure pulmonary veins, the bronchial circulation is effectively an arterio-venous shunt.
In the submenu, the bronchial circulation has been divided into:
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